Analysis Performance of SauteMoutons14 with Residual Water Aboard The excursion jet boat ride is advertised as a wet ride and the open passenger seating compartment is intermittently filled with water to waist level. While the water is evacuated relatively quickly through two one-way evacuation port openings at the after end of the passenger seating area, when so loaded with water, the vessel's draught increases. When moving ahead it is thus deeper in the water and tends to be less lively. The reduced freeboard also caused a large volume of water to flow over the port and starboard bows. Immediately prior to the occurrence, the time between wave encounters did not allow the vessel to evacuate the water and re-acquire its normal operating draught. Thus, when the vessel bow dipped down into the next wave trough it did not rise with the next approaching wave but rather ploughed into it. The vessel continued to submerge its bow at a location beyond the wave as seen in the trip video replay. The availability of the high engine horsepower (1620hp) applied to the water jets allowed the operator to continue to move the vessel, with the passenger compartment in a flooded condition. Power was not reduced until the forward section of the vessel had been driven underwater. Operator Situational Awareness The operator of a water jet boat needs to split his attention between the safe navigation and manoeuvring of the vessel and the safety of the passengers with respect to their seated positions and also to their level of water exposure. The operating company has detailed experience and training requirements to be met before an operator is allowed to navigate a passenger water jet .boat. The operator of the SauteMoutons14 had been operating the vessel for three seasons without undue incident. During this time there was no report of a passenger injury while he was operating the vessel. Prior to the occurrence, a speed was maintained that did not allow the time needed for the vessel to recover, or nearly recover, its normal operating draught before proceeding into the next wave. During this period, the level of awareness respecting passenger safety was less than adequate. Risks to Passengers There is no record of other passengers being carried overboard in the history of company operations. Since operations began, the company has carried over 500000passengers without undergoing a similar occurrence. Other past information concerning passengers who involuntarily enter rapids, is very limited. Just prior to the time of the SauteMoutons14 occurrence, the passengers were subjected to substantial water flow pressure against their upper bodies while moving ahead underwater. The known risks associated with the ride, described as a 'thrill wet ride', were increased when the forward section of the vessel proceeded ahead submerged. This action went well beyond what the passengers expected. Medical Assessment of the Victims The recovered persons were assessed by a paramedic in the operating company's employ upon the vessel's return to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Based on the paramedic's assessment, they did not need further medical attention except for small cuts and abrasions. It has been indicated that a person entering the turbulent waters of 'white water' rapids will possibly experience some disorientation which could magnify the original traumatic experience. The manner in which the operator was manoeuvring the vessel for a brief moment prior to the occurrence indicates that he was not sufficiently cognisant or aware of the danger to which the passengers were exposed. Engine power, in excess of that required for normal operating parameters, appears to have been maintained just prior to and during the time of the occurrence. There was insufficient time between wave encounters for the SauteMoutons14 to evacuate the water shipped aboard before the bow and forward passenger area became submerged. While the vessel's bow was resurfacing, large volumes of water flowed out of the passenger compartment and one person, followed by another, was carried overboard.Findings as to Causes and Contributing Factors The manner in which the operator was manoeuvring the vessel for a brief moment prior to the occurrence indicates that he was not sufficiently cognisant or aware of the danger to which the passengers were exposed. Engine power, in excess of that required for normal operating parameters, appears to have been maintained just prior to and during the time of the occurrence. There was insufficient time between wave encounters for the SauteMoutons14 to evacuate the water shipped aboard before the bow and forward passenger area became submerged. While the vessel's bow was resurfacing, large volumes of water flowed out of the passenger compartment and one person, followed by another, was carried overboard. Safety Action Action Taken At the end of the 2001 season, Niagara Gorge Whirlpool Jet Boats Ltd. advised that the bailing ducts, which evacuate water from the passenger area, were expanded in size and re-designed. The previous design incorporated a 90degree turn in the duct. The new design and larger construction will allow the same volume of water to be evacuated in a straight line direction aft and thus shed water faster from the passenger seating area. The weight of the water exiting in the reconstructed tubes helps to bring the bow up and drop the stern, further helping to trim the boat.